I had a hard time getting into this book. There's no plot, just a naïve girl growing up in Southern California. Yet, this is where I connected. I grewI had a hard time getting into this book. There's no plot, just a naïve girl growing up in Southern California. Yet, this is where I connected. I grew up about the same place, about the same time and also quite clueless, despite my reading and everything. It seemed to be trying very desperately to say something about race. That is front and center. Yet it doesn't go anywhere. The narrator ends up doing art, but without any guidance yet still "subversive" and full of subtext. The novel felt like it had potential but didn't go anywhere, which is exactly what happened to our main character. The first female in the family to go to college, and USC no less. As a black woman she couldn't get a degree in art, where her talent and interest lay, but got a smart degree in business. Then nothing. Ended up marrying someone with money.

Still the book hardly went anywhere. I found the lack of quotation marks just silly and annoying. They do serve a purpose! Well, I can hardly recommend this book. Likely it's one I will entirely forget in years to come. ...more

The story begins with Florence Gordon working on her memoir. She gets quite annoyed by a friend who needs her help at a restaurant a few blocks away,The story begins with Florence Gordon working on her memoir. She gets quite annoyed by a friend who needs her help at a restaurant a few blocks away, and even more shocked to discover it was a ploy for a surprise 75th birthday party for her albeit months in advance. Florence is not one for subtlety, she promptly announces that she has more important things to do at the moment and abruptly leaves to return to her writing.

Very quickly you know what type of character is Florence Gordon. It takes longer to discover the other characters, which covers three generations: Florence, her son and his wife, to her grand-daughter Emily. I grew to like most of the characters even though all have large flaws, which does reflect real life. A few other people populate the novel but not many. It was an interesting book that didn't have much in forward moving plot, but it was good. The interactions of these different family members are sometimes played over again by a different view point so you see the varied sides. I wanted the book to continue after it ended, but it made sense to end where it did.